Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Waxman's Whining; Fiscal Cliff Looming

The fiscal cliff is looming in Washington D.C., yet
Congressman Henry Waxman has refused to meet with voters in the 33rd
Congressional District. Instead, he frequents Beltway press conferences
defending Medicare against any reforms. Waxman remains unrestrained in his belief
that the rich should pay “their fair share”, but he refuses to support “means testing”
so that richer Medicare recipients pay more for benefits for which they pay
practically nothing.

Still, the Congressman is convinced that the United States can
solve the fiscal and environmental problems all at once. By resurrecting his
abortive Cap and Trade legislation, the federal government can tax businesses
and close up the budget shortfalls. Waxman should be taking heavy heat for
shedding light on inane issues which the Congress and the country kicked away
three years ago. Both Republicans and Democrats put a cap on Cap and Trade in
2009, and in West Virginia’s US Senator Joe Manchin has pledged to “bust a cap”
in any legislation which includes such officious provisions.

Despite Waxman’s reputation for blowing hot air, the 33rd
Congressional District deserves more than whining about global warming, while budget
reform is getting no vetting. The federal government is drowning in red ink,
yet Waxman is worried about climate change and the rising ocean tides. The tide
of public opinion in the Santa Monica Bay should be pushing him into fiscal
realities or should push him out of office into the sea with his fellow failed
liberal colleagues Howard Berman and Peter Stark.